Boston’s Free Fitness Extravaganza

Mayor Menino launches more free fitness classes in the city.

Get outside this summer and take one of the many free fitness classes offered around the city. Outdoor fitness class photo via Shutterstock.

Boston is having a free fitness moment. If you’ve ever wanted to try Zumba, yoga, Pilates, bootcamp, or a run club, this summer is your chance to do it free of charge. There are free classes on the Esplanade,Â free classes in Post Office Square,Â free classes on the Greenway, yoga at the Frog Pond, and now, free classes at City Hall Plaza.

Mayor Tom Menino isÂ launchingÂ “Fitness in the City”, which are free fitness classes that are open to the public, as part of Boston Moves for Health. The classes start Friday June 28th with bootcamp at 6:30 a.m. that will continue for the rest of the summer. Meta Movements will also be holding a special community salsa dance event Friday night on the Plaza from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bootcamp is rain or shine, but the salsa event has a rain makeup date (July 12).Â The Fitness in the City classes will include Zumba, Pilates, and bootcamp.

â€śOur Fitness on the Plaza classes were more popular than we expected last summer, and we want to build on that success by offering even more options in more places this year,â€ť Mayor Menino said in the press release. â€śGetting people out and active adds to the vitality of our city, and itâ€™s a great way to promote healthy habits. We know that a lot of the participants in last yearâ€™s classes found out about them just by walking by, so we want to keep encouraging folks to let the city be their gym.â€ť

Bootcamp classes will be sponsored by Beantown Bootcamp, Boston Sports Club, Ultimate Bootcamp, and the Hyde Park YMCA. Â Zumba classes sponsored by the Z Spot Zumba and the East Boston YMCA, and the Pilates classes are sponsored by the East Boston YMCA. â€śThanks to all of our partners for their support in this fantastic program,â€ť said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, in the press release. â€śWe hope that the classes attract people of all ages and abilities to help show off how healthy Boston is. Itâ€™s a great time to exercise outside, and we think people will have a lot of fun with these options.â€ť

According to the press release, a complete schedule isÂ availableÂ at BostonMovesForHealth.org. The Boston Public Health Commission will also be tweeting about upcoming classes from @HealthyBoston, using the #BostonMoves hashtag. No advanced sign-up is necessary, and everyone is free to just drop-in. With this many free fitness classesÂ availableÂ this summer, there are no excuses for not giving them a try.